Bingo is a well-known game of chance often played outside of a casino setting, although certain casinos offer the game of Bingo or a variant of it.
Bingo is typically played with a set of balls, or objects representing balls, that are numbered 1 through 75. The numbers are divided into subsets as follows: numbers 1 through 15 are divided into the “B” group; numbers 16-30 are divided into the “I” group; numbers 31-45 are divided into the “N” group; numbers 46-60 are divided into the “G” group; and numbers 61-75 are divided into the “O” group. The balls are traditionally placed in a “hopper”—or another device that randomly calls balls or objects representing balls—which a game administrator operates.
Bingo is often played in a Bingo hall or in a similar section of a casino. It can be played through a computerized environment, in person, or through a combination of both. A player may typically buy in with a fixed amount in exchange for a bingo “card” and a player purchases as many cards as the player wishes to purchase.
In traditional Bingo, a card has a table with six rows and five columns of cells. The top row has column labels corresponding to each subset, i.e., respectively, “B”, “I”, “N”, “G”, and “O”. Each column's cell includes a random sample of each subset of numbers that are grouped with the column label. For example, the “B” column typically is filled with numbers ranging from 1 through 15.
The rules of conventional Bingo are known to a person skilled in the art. Balls are usually called one at a time by the game administrator until a player achieves the predetermined winning sequence(s). Such winning sequences may include having a players card with numbers matching the ones that the game administrator called in the form of a pattern, such as a row, a column, an “S”-shape, an “X”-shape, a “T”-shape, all four corners, a “picture frame,” or all cells. In traditional Bingo, the winning player receives a prize according to the prize amount designated for the winning card. Prizes may or may not be split among simultaneously winning players. The house may take a portion of the buy-in proceeds and use the remaining buy-in amount for the accrual of jackpots or other secondary games.
It may be beneficial to have a new method and device for playing Bingo where enhanced payouts, betting options, or winning possibilities exist. It also may be beneficial to have a new method of playing Bingo that may attract additional players without introducing confusing rules.